Doom Turns 19 Today, Making Original Doom Players Feel Really Old

Remember Doom, the genre-defining first-person shooter in which you guide a heavily armed space marine through demon-infested Martian catacombs?

Remember how much fun it was to puree your alien nemeses with a roaring chainsaw, or to blast them into gooey smithereens using the BFG (Big Effing Gun) 9000?

Remember how grown-ups were appalled by the game’s gratuitous gore, and how that only made you love the game even more?

If you remember any of that stuff, you’re probably old. Today, Dec. 10, is the 19th anniversary of the release of Doom. Babies born while you were playing Doom are now legally adults. Mull that one over.

Then again, perhaps you’re a younger gamer and you’ve only played Doom ironically, or because you prefer vintage titles. Just remember: someday Assassins Creed III and Skyrim will feel quaintly “vintage” and some young whippersnapper will be destroying you in an immersive online battle of Grand Theft Hovercar 14.